I really love my Raise3D N2+ 12"x12"x24" They also make the N2 which is 12"x12"x12". You can get the printer with single or dual extruder.
Prints ABS, PLA, PC-blends, flexible, HIPS, etc. I think the only thing it won’t print is PEEK because the hot end doesn’t go up high enough.
For the times that the extruder gets clogged, it comes with a ram rod and it’s easy to get into the hot end. No having to take fans off. Just three short thumbscrews to remove the front plate and then insert the ram rod.
It’s a nice looking printer with extremely smooth and beautiful prints every time. My 0.2 layer height prints are cleaner than the prints from my Replicator 2x at 0.1 layer height. Touch screen control panel (running some version of Android software).
It runs 24/7 and has a great software interface. Manual placement or automatic support generation. You can even cut the part in the software.
we are 3D service Studio with heavy volume and as diverse audience as yours. We are doing a lot of workshops for students from K2 till high grades. We are working with Faculty and Inventors and had similar problem to find proper, easy to use, not complicated printers for our client open area.
we tested around 22 printers in the past 16 months and depends on desired size and work type we decided on Zortrax M200 and Up!Mini 2. For very large prints we are using Fusion3 F-400. Zortrax has simple but powerful ZSuite and we run 280 hrs. jobs on it, mainly unattended. Bed size around 200 mm square, Up!Mini is easy to use as well. Both are enclosed, Mini has Hepa filter. We had both printers operated by 6-7 graders or total 3D novices.
F400 is large 14 inches each (xyz axis) and needs 3D deeper knowledge.
Where is your library located?
If you are in Georgia, by any chance, please stop by in our Studio. I can also share with our tests results. Some of the tested printers we still have and using them from time to time. For place like yours, we will never recommend printers from “geeks” category ( nothing wrong with geeks, I’m one) as you have choice of running it like clockwork or spend time fixing printers
you can contact me at ssliw@usa.net if you would to have more infomation about our decisions process.
For printer management I would suggest using 3dprinteros, we used 8 ultimaker with number of students collaborating and using the 3d printers. The whole interface is very institutional friendly setup and would prefect in your case. Has ability to slice in cloud, give prints, monitor them etc and also give access to students as required. Later on the data analytics is also helpful for some purposes.
Printer- I would recommend makergear m2 simply because its reliable and consistent, you will find others with good spec and all but this machine never fails. I give prints remotely and come home to find the prints done! simple.
I run a product design and 3D printing business and we use our printers basically 24/7 as well. We have used several brands of 3D printers, but we’ve found that the Ultimaker 2+ series is the most reliable as long as a the machines are keep in good maintenance. This includes regular greasing, oiling, etc. If you would like to get a hold of me to see some basic maintenance charts, feel free to contact me justin@shookideas.com.
In reference to your comment about expanding the number of materials, my business Shook Ideas would love to help you out. You can find our material shop here: http://shookideas.com/3Dfilament.html. We offer special discounts on materials to schools, libraries, etc. We use all of the filaments we sell, so we also support the materials we sell if you have any issues. I look forward to hearing from you!
I understand your pains completely. The comments from earlier in the thread talk about how the Ultimaker is not very good since it is a Bowden drive set up. They are somewhat right. I had two Ultimaker 2’s. They were ok, but since then I’ve upgraded them to the Ultimaker 2+ versions and they have been rock stars ever since. Not only are they more reliable, but I can print basically twice as fast. This is important because my business not only does product design and prototyping, but we 3D print products that we sell to consumers. If 3D printing directly to consumer doesn’t tell you about the reliable quality, then I don’t know what will. Like I said in the earlier post too, we run these things all day and night. This is all done with the Ultimaker 2+. Currently we stock over 20 different materials that the Ultimaker 2+ uses flawlessly. We have several machines in our farm and they work great.
I say this and I don’t work for Ultimaker, don’t sell for Ultimaker, and have no contacts at Ultimaker directly. My business does sell the best filament on the market if you are interested though :). We’re just passionate about 3D printing more than anything!
We lost all our videos we took when we had a company use one of our machines for a mini production run, but here is an interview with the engineer that used the machine
You can contact us at info@gizmo3dprinters.com.au and we can have a chat. If you look at our YouTube channel you will see many many live streams proving we can do production runs on our machines.
Sorry Jessica. Wish I could have helped you more. We don’t care for extruder based printers : ) Haven’t had any luck with them. Too mechanical in nature and prone to breaking.
We do however LOVE our GiziMax dlp sla printer. Less working parts and less problems. It’s the future! My husband went to U of A. Go Wildcats!
I woul recommend the N2 or N2+ from Raise3D. It’s a closed 3d printer how can reach 300 °c . It can work 100 hours without any check and the precision is really impressive.
